The Pacific Cup is a rugby league football competition for international teams from the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 region.

History

The Pacific Cup was started in 1975 by Keith Gittoes of the New South Wales Rugby League

New South Wales Rugby League

The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...

.{ It was held twice in the 1970s before being abandoned due to cost.

The competition was revived in 1986, and held biennially until the 1996 competition was postponed. Instead a 1996 Pacific Challenge was held. The Super League

Super League war

The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...

 ran an Oceania Cup in 1997

1997 Oceania Cup

-Round 2:-Round 3:-Table:-5th place play-off:-3rd place play-off:-Final:...

.

The Pacific Cup was revived by the New Zealand Rugby League

New Zealand Rugby League

The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....

 once again in 2004, this time as a secondary competition to the Pacific Rim Championship. It was again held in February and March 2006 under NZRL administration, this time as a main competition.

Re-launch

In the post-2008 Rugby League World Cup

2008 Rugby League World Cup

The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...

 shake up of the international calendar by the RLIF

Rugby League International Federation

The Rugby League International Federation is the world governing body of rugby league football. It was formed in 1998 in Sydney, Australia. Its purpose is to, "foster, develop, extend, govern and administer the game of Rugby League throughout the world". Its headquarters are in Sydney, Australia,...

, it was confirmed that a Pacific Cup was to be held in 2009 with the winner of the tournament entering the 2010 Four Nations

Rugby League Four Nations

The Rugby League Four Nations is an annual rugby league football tournament run in partnership between the Australian Rugby League, Rugby Football League and New Zealand Rugby League representing the top three nations in the sport: Australia, England and New Zealand. A fourth partner, France,...

 tournament.

The 2009 tournament

2009 Pacific Cup

-Semifinals:-Third place Playoff:-Final:-Telecast Details:The Pacific Cup will be shown in the UK, Australia, and throughout the Pacific.*In Australia all matches will be broadcast by NRL.com while the Nine Network will show a one hour highlight package each weekend.*In Britain matches will be...

 was hosted by Papua New Guinea. The competing teams were Cook Islands

Cook Islands national rugby league team

-2008 World Cup Qualifying:See 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifyingThe Cook Islands played Fiji, Tonga and Samoa in the Pacific pool of Qualifying for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Fiji and Tonga qualified, and Samoa earned a second chance in the repecharge round...

, Fiji

Fiji national rugby league team

-Competitions:Fiji have participated in:*Pacific Cup *World Cup *World Sevens *Superleague World Nines *Superleague Oceania Tournament *Pacific Rim Competition -Results:...

, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea national rugby league team

The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea internationally in the sport of rugby league football.In Papua New Guinea, Rugby league is highly popular and is regarded as the country’s national sport. The national side are known as the Kumuls...

, Samoa

Samoa national rugby league team

-Notable Players & Coaches:* John Ackland * Steve Kaiser Coach 1990 - 1994* Steve Kaiser 1986* Afi Ah Koui 1986* Andrew Ah Koui 1986* George Apelu 1986* Fa'ausu Afoa circa-1995* Wing Afoa 1990 - 1994* Isaak Ah Mau circa-2006...

 and Tonga

Tonga national rugby league team

The Tonga national rugby league team is a national sporting side, representing Tonga in rugby league football. Rugby league is a popular sport in Tonga, and the national team has become one of the best performed nations in the world...

.

A Pacific Cup is also scheduled to be held in 2011.

Pacific Cup details

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Location	Other teams
1975		38–13		Lloyd Robson Oval Lloyd Robson Oval Lloyd Robson Oval is a sporting ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It hosted 3 games for the 1989 - 1992 Rugby League World Cup. It has been the home ground for the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team since 1982. It has a total capacity of just over 10,000 people.Llyod Robson Oval... , Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...	Victoria (Australia),  Western Australia
1977 1977 Pacific Cup -Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5:-Final:-External links:* The Vault...		35–12	Western Australia	Carlaw Park Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.-History:The stadium's grandstands and terraces were built in 1916, and it became the home of rugby league in Auckland from 1921... , New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...	Victoria (Australia),  Northern Territory,
1986 1986 Pacific Cup -Pool B:-Play offs:-Final:...		23-6		Rarotonga Rarotonga Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga... , Cook Islands Cook Islands The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...	, , ,
1988 1988 Pacific Cup -Group 2:-Finals:-Fifth place play off:-Semi Finals:-Third place play off:-Final:-External links:* The Vault...		19–24		Apia, Western Samoa	, , ,
31 October 1990 1990 Pacific Cup -Group B:-Finals:-Semi Finals:-Final:-External links:* The Vault...		26–18		Nuku'alofa Nuku'alofa Nukualofa is the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the southern most island group of Tonga.-Mythological origins:... , Tonga Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...	, , Australian Aboriginies Australian Aboriginal rugby league team The Australia Aboriginal rugby league team is a rugby league football team that represents Australian Aborigines... , Friendly Islands, ,
1992 1992 Pacific Cup (rugby league) -Section 2:An opening ceremony was held at Carlaw Park before the New Zealand Māori v Australian Aboriginies match.-Finals:-Semi Finals:-Third place playoff:-Final:...		18–14		Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world... , New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...	, Australian Aboriginies Australian Aboriginal rugby league team The Australia Aboriginal rugby league team is a rugby league football team that represents Australian Aborigines... , , , , ,
1994 1994 Pacific Cup -Group B:-Finals:-Semi Finals:-Third place playoff:-Final:...		34–11		Suva Suva Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,... , Fiji Fiji Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...	, , Australian Aboriginies Australian Aboriginal rugby league team The Australia Aboriginal rugby league team is a rugby league football team that represents Australian Aborigines... , , , Rotuma Rotuma Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a small but unique indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognizable minority within the population of Fiji, known as "Rotumans"... ,
1996 as Pacific Challenge Series	No final played				, , , ,   New Zealand XIII New Zealand Residents rugby league team The New Zealand Residents are a New Zealand rugby league football representative side that is selected from players competing in domestic competitions.-History:In 1977 Dane Sorensen became the first New Zealander to be... , ,
1997 1997 Oceania Cup -Round 2:-Round 3:-Table:-5th place play-off:-3rd place play-off:-Final:... as Oceania Cup 1997 Oceania Cup -Round 2:-Round 3:-Table:-5th place play-off:-3rd place play-off:-Final:...	New Zealand XIII New Zealand Residents rugby league team The New Zealand Residents are a New Zealand rugby league football representative side that is selected from players competing in domestic competitions.-History:In 1977 Dane Sorensen became the first New Zealander to be...	20–15		Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world... , New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...	, , ,
23 October 2004 as Pacific Rim Championship		52–18		North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium, situated in Albany, in North Shore City, in New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, football and rugby League are the only sports played on the main ground, as it is rectangular in shape.... , New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...	, , ,
5 March 2006 2006 Pacific Cup The 2006 Pacific Cup was the 10th Pacific Cup, a rugby league tournament held between Pacific teams. The tournament was hosted in Auckland and eventually won by Tonga, who defeated Fiji in the final...		22–4		Waitemata Stadium, New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...	, , ,
1 November 2009 2009 Pacific Cup -Semifinals:-Third place Playoff:-Final:-Telecast Details:The Pacific Cup will be shown in the UK, Australia, and throughout the Pacific.*In Australia all matches will be broadcast by NRL.com while the Nine Network will show a one hour highlight package each weekend.*In Britain matches will be...		42-14		Lloyd Robson Oval Lloyd Robson Oval Lloyd Robson Oval is a sporting ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It hosted 3 games for the 1989 - 1992 Rugby League World Cup. It has been the home ground for the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team since 1982. It has a total capacity of just over 10,000 people.Llyod Robson Oval... , Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...	, ,